Hurricane season arrives again, and with global climate change warming the oceans, we can expect these storms to level up into a whole new category of impending danger. I live in Eastern North Carolina, and I’m more concerned than ever about protecting my home and neighbors. So what’s a concerned witch to do? In previous years, I’ve written a fair few articles with ideas for protection spells from the wind and rising flood waters. The following index of those articles can be used for customization of protection from dangerous storms of any kind. Plus, never miss a chance to collect and magickally prepare “Hurricane Water,” because you never know when you might need it. Just click on the link images to open up that article for further instructions.

Should you feel a snarky comment comin’ on: please read to the end for my soap-box rant about the neccessity to follow up magickal and spiritual working with real-world action, such as voting for those who acknowledge climate change, making contributions of resources, time, effort, in support of Disaster Relief Organizations. Successful witchery is a combination of energetic work for change AND real-world changes. But criticising a Witch for praying, or seeking protection during a crises, is assh*lery that helps no one. Don’t be the troll who *again* crticises one of these articles without reading them first. Yes, this actually happens. EVERY.TIME.

First: Ward Your Property

Before we dive in to Hurricane specifics, if you haven’t already created Spiritual Wards around your property, I’d start there. While the article below on home protection creates energetic shields against baneful entities and energies, they work just as well against physical intruders and weather damage.

Iron Grid: In addition to what is suggested in this article, I suggest finding yourself 4 old, iron railroad spikes and a hammer. Then go to the four corners of the land on which you live, and while calling on the Gods of War, Justice and Defense, like Mars, Ares, Tyr, etc., to shield your land from all intrusion and harm, drive those spikes into the earth with vigor. You are making a grid around the property with iron, and that is some old folk-magick that is handy defense against all manner of interference.

Make Tree Allies: Another idea is to go work with the tallest tree on the property as the Priest of the Plant Realm in residence. Energetically work out a protection deal with this spirit and from a bubble of protection anchored like a central tent-pole around that tree, covering the full range of land from which it can be seen. Write your petition on one of their leaves and wrap it around a cinnamon stick or iron nail (fire) and tie with a red ribbon. Anoint it with some kind of Protection oil, if you have some, and keep this bundle on your altar during the storm. Bury it under your tree with an offering of fresh water and gratitude after the storm passes. This technique was inspired by something Ivo Dominguez Jr. once shared with me, and I believe it worked wonders for me during Florence. UPDATE: Ivo just graciously posted the complete instructions and language for his Weather Ward.

Collecting Hurricane Waters for Future Spellwork

“Hurricanes don’t play favorites; they teach harsh lessons of humility to everyone in their path. They are terrifying, humbling, and demand our respect. These waters can be collected and used later for magick that seeks radical changes, justice, and leveling the playing field for whatever challenges are before us.”

A Full Moon Spell Using Hurricane Waters

After I collected these waters, I used them the following April in 2019, during the Astrological Blue moon in Aries. This article outlines how I put them to benefit.

“Think of Hurricane water as a perfect magickal storm (pun intended) of the powers of elemental air and water. Rain collected during a hurricane can be used to remove blocks to your forward movement. This can apply to anything in your life that seems stuck and needs a strong wind to blow away the tangles to your vision and thinking. This fast moving water can help you break through barriers, and flow through anything that keeps you from your goals. Do you need to let go of some old emotional baggage? Well, this is the water to help do the job.”

Protection Magick Against Hurricanes

Click the image links below for the complete instructions for a prayerful rite that I’ve adapted for several regions over the years. Just substitute the name of the current hurricane, and your own region. You’ll find the list of materials and ritual actions suggested to enact a spell for yourself. You may customize it for your personal path of magick or paganism.

If you’re a sigil-making witch, create your own. Since this writing, I’ve taken a workshop with Laura Tempest Zakroff on her book Sigil Witchery, which is a must read. Really, just follow your gut, do what makes sense to you, and unlocks your connection to Universal power. I’ve found that DOING something, ANYTHING, is better than freaking out with worry over an approaching storm.

Yeet Not, Fair Witches

Note that this prayer wording is careful not to just yeet the storm over to some other region to get destroyed instead of you. It seeks to weaken the power of the wind, and chanel that wild power to strengthen and protect all of us and and our resources, so that the storm may pass through without causing too much damage, no matter where it lands. Last year after the post below, many, many witches I know worked together at the some hour to enact this spell, and within hours Hurricane Florence took a COMPLETELY unexpected hard left turn, reduced in speed from Cat 5 to Cat 2. I was stunned by the effectiveness of our work. My town was spared from the worst of it, but the coast of NC from Wilmington to Virginia were still devastated by the storm surge, wind and tornadoes. I still feel that the reduction of speed and ferocity was helpful, no matter where that monster landed.

Protection Magick Against Rising Flood Waters

This article includes the version of the abovr protection magick prayer and spell, that I adapted to work protection for Houston, Texas as flood Waters were rising in 2017, and threatening the lives of many people I still know and care about in this region. I used to live in Houston, and I felt that concern very personally. It is another variation on the same theme.

Hurricane Matthew Hit in 2016: My Original Prayer for Protection during the Flood

This is the article that started it all. I chronicled how we weathered Hurricane Matthew here in North Carolina, and the prayerful spell I wrote at the time to thwart the impending floods as the Tar River rose. This flood almost put my shop out of business. The flood waters got no where near my building, but they cut off many communities from getting to us for a month at least, as many highways were under water. There are many types of damages that can happen when catastrophic weather comes to town.

TROLL ALERT: In times of Crises, Witches Back up Spiritual Work with Real World Action

<Heron ascends her soap box ::tap tap:: Is this thing on? …ahem…>

Every time I’ve posted one of the above articles, I caught guff from so-called pagan and magickal people who complained that these energetic workings I propose are no different than a disingenuous Christian sending their “thoughts and prayers” after a tragedy.

OR those trolls take offense that a pagan would presume to interfere with natural weather patterns to which we are all beholden. To that notion, I have two words: Rain Dance. I think it is fair to say that all indigenous forms of religion and magick grew up out of the pleas of ordinary folks for aid in surviving, calling upon, or averting “weather” of some kind so they could survive and thrive, at least in some part.

OR it offends some trolls that a priestess would suggest praying to our Deities for strength and protection, OR appealing to our ancestors for aid in defending their former homes, OR working any magick at all for the benefit of strangers from afar, as if that just isn’t good enough.

There inevitably creeps up from the self-righteous, with the notion that the only real and valid help a concerned global citizen can lend is in showing up to a disaster region in person, with their shovels and boats, to throw their back into the filling of sand bags or rescuing folks from rooftops. OR that INSTEAD of working magick, they should be donating money and supplies to the relief organizations that can get in there and do so for them. Can’t we do both? Somehow I doubt those commenters were posting from the actual disaster regions…seeing as they would have been too busy to have the time to criticize my efforts.

May I remind the reading public that not everyone has the physical ability to show up, but everyone has the spiritual ability to show up. And any moment is a good time to start helping.

I appeal to all readers to ALSO make those financial contributions to official Disaster Relief organizations, as you are able.AND to show up and physically help your neighbors in a disaster region, as you are able.AND to make personal lifestyle changes, reducing your carbon footprint, to collectively avert worsening climate change, as you are able.

So I will say it louder for the pagans in the back:

Magickal and Spiritual work is a valid means of lending aid where it is needed, and can be done from anywhere on Earth, by anyone who cares, even by those who have nary a spare red cent to send. This is what witches do: First the energetic work AND THEN we get out there are do the physical work to back up our intentions, as we are able. Fifty points to Gryffindor for any witch creatively contributing to the betterment of planet earth and Her creatures, however you can manage it.

Heron Michelle is a witch, priestess, mom, artist and shopkeeper living in Greenville, North Carolina. Connect with her on Facebook: Witch on Fire: Heron Rising Services and follow her on Twitter @HeronMichelle13. You can read more about the author here.